The company stated that they will run this offer for two weeks (beginning October 11), or until the government shutdown ends, whichever happens first. The offer includes a choice between three available kits. A furloughed employee only needs to send an image of his or her furlough letter, along with the person's home address and selection, to furloughed@sparkfun.com in order to receive the gift. The kits available for selection are as follows:

"As a general rule… a Department of the Interior employee may not, directly or indirectly, solicit or accept a gift[.]"

However, there could be many ways of interpreting this exchange, such as the acceptable "discounts and similar benefits" clause (section C on the Web page). Then again, when the government's shut down, who enforces these laws?

As the things started moving again, were all the furloughed employees reinstated back to their positions? Going through the comments posted by many on the sparkfun website, I see there was a huge response to this campaign by Sparkfun. Hope many could avail this opportunity.